{"id":912174,"date":"2026-06-12T13:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T18:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/2026-fifa-world-cup-opener-shakira-gets-nigerian-heavyweight-for-dai-dai-performance-watch\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T13:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T18:13:15","slug":"2026-fifa-world-cup-opener-shakira-gets-nigerian-heavyweight-for-dai-dai-performance-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/2026-fifa-world-cup-opener-shakira-gets-nigerian-heavyweight-for-dai-dai-performance-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 FIFA World Cup opener: Shakira gets Nigerian heavyweight for \u2018Dai Dai\u2019 performance \u2013 Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Burna Boy and Shakira. Copyright: Imago<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Colombian pop star Shakira opened the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a performance at the Mexico City Stadium ahead of the tournament’s kick-off fixture between El Tri and Bafana Bafana of South Africa, Soccernet.ng<\/a> reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 49-year-old performed \u201cDai Dai,\u201d the official anthem for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alongside Nigerian afrobeats artist Burna Boy. The original song was officially released a month ago.<\/p>\n

The song translates to \u2018Come on, Come on’ in English, and was written by Shakira and Burna Boy together with Benny Adam, Jon Bellion, Ed Sheeran and Alexander Castillo, who produced the song with Gerard Piqu\u00e9’s ex-girlfriend. <\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Shakira and Burna Boy with dancers at the opening of the 2026 FIFA World Cup ceremony. Copyright: ImagoxMatthiasxKochx<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Get Our Sports News First \u2013\u00a0Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The song was written in five languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French and Japanese<\/p>\n

Soccer Shakira and Burna Boy perform Dai Dai in FIFA World Cup opener<\/h2>\n

Shakira and the choreographers put up a performance in white fits, layered with yellow hand and waistbands, a reminder of her Colombian heritage. Burna Boy, meanwhile, was clothed in jeans. You can watch the performance here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Burna Boy & Shakira performing the Greatest World Cup song \u201cDai Dai\u201d live in Mexico \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd at the opening ceremony of the fifa World Cup \ud83c\udfc6 pic.twitter.com\/LqZ0POQjrO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ThatOjoBoy (@ThatOjoBoy) June 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Andrea Bocelli and Ejae, ahead of the opening match, also performed \u2018DNA’. David Guetta and Megan Thee Stallion featured on the song, but were not in attendance at the Mexico City Stadium.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Nigerian singer and rapper Burna Boy performs a live concert during the Danish music festival Roskilde Festival 2023. Copyright: ImagoxGonzalesxPhoto\/LassexLagonix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tyla also led the South African team in singing their national anthem, while Elias Mejia Avante, Fher Olvera and Danny Ocean also performed during the Opening Ceremony. <\/p>\n

Toronto will also host an opening ceremony tomorrow, ahead of Canada’s first-ever home World Cup match, with a \u201ccultural mosaic\u201d theme. <\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Tyla at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. Copyright: ImagoxArianaxRuizx<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Los Angeles will complete the trio of the ceremonies later tomorrow, before the United States play against Paraguay.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Adefolahan Guerreiro” src=”https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f64d35abfd960f4a5a400c4bb517f7f0be6c48b655560fbdd37e59d9fc9ca58?s=80&d=mm&r=g” height=”80″ width=”80″ loading=”lazy” decoding=”async”>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tAdefolahan Guerreiro\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\tAdefolahan is a multilingual CAF-Accredited sports journalist and football writer whose work spans outlets like Soccernet Nigeria, Pure Football UK, and Royalsportz. <\/p>\n

With a sharp eye for detail and a background in college sports, he tells the African football story with depth, flair, and global perspective.<\/p>\n

Fluent in English, Spanish, and German, he brings a cross-cultural voice to his coverage, blending insight with accessibility for readers around the world.
\nHis portfolio includes interviews with top Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, Sikiru Alimi, Sodiq Ismaila, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.<\/p>\n

A devoted Borussia Dortmund fan, Adefolahan thrives on the emotion and rhythm of the beautiful game. Away from work, he\u2019s a sci-fi enthusiast and series lover who enjoys exploring how sport, storytelling, and culture collide.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Adefolahan Guerreiro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Burna Boy and Shakira. Copyright: Imago Colombian pop star Shakira opened the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a performance at the Mexico City Stadium ahead of the tournament’s kick-off fixture between El Tri and Bafana Bafana of South Africa, Soccernet.ng reports. The 49-year-old performed \u201cDai Dai,\u201d the official anthem for the 2026 FIFA World […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":912175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31780,2005,644],"tags":[6914,5489],"class_list":["post-912174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-opener","category-soccer","category-world","tag-opener","tag-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=912174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/912175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=912174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=912174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=912174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}